Barney said: “It’s unbelievable that 10 years have passed since that night. It’s strange to look at that man in 2007, weighing 135kg (21 st) and playing the best darts of his life.

“In those days, if I wanted to have that second Big Mac and fries, I took it. Now I have to be so careful I can only have one milkshake a day. It is really depressing, but you have to listen to your body.

“That was an amazing time in my life – when I got back to Amsterdam, there were maybe 200 photographers waiting for me. It was like the Beatles had landed at Schiphol airport, the whole country went mad.”

Van Barneveld in action

Although Barney has not won the world title since that epic night in Essex, he has provided some fabulous entertainment at Ally Pally.

Twelve months ago, celebrating the birth of his first grandchild, he beat Van Gerwen in a double-Dutch classic, and since 2007, he has reached one final and four semi-finals.

He has also been on the wrong end of the chorus line, ambushed in the first round by bricklayer James Richardson five years ago and lampooned for trying a facepalm method of keeping his eyesight crystal-clear.

Although Van Gerwen is odds-on with every bookmaker to lift the Sid Waddell Trophy this year, there is only one Dutchman in the field who has worn the crown five times.

Michael Van Gerwen in action (Image: Steve Welsh William Hill)

The pair greet each other last year (Image: Getty)

Van Barneveld, who faces Robbie Green in a booby-trapped first round tie, said: “You don’t want to lose in the first round because you have a nightmare Christmas and I was struggling last year.

“But Michael also struggled in the first round against that German guy (Rene Eidams) and I thought, ‘If I’m ever going to have the chance to beat him, it’s this year’ – and I did.

“I reached the semi-finals, which was phenomenal, but Adrian Lewis was too strong for me. When you are playing a tough match every other day, sometimes it is too much. I am getting older and my diabetes is killing my eyes. I wasn’t fit enough, or energised enough, to go all the way.”

Barney faces a minefield to reach the later stages of this tournament, with Alan Norris lying in wait in the second round and potential meetings with Lewis, Taylor, Van Gerwen and reigning champion Gary Anderson further down the line.

He said: “I’m playing really well, I still have it and I still believe in myself. That route is a bit steep, but miracles do happen, although I’m not looking further than my first round match.”